By Kirk Maltais 
 

-- Corn contracts for March delivery rose 1.6% to $3.80 a bushel at the Chicago Board of Trade Thursday.

-- March soybean contracts also rose by 1.5% to $9.07 3/4 a bushel.

-- March wheat contracts rose 1.1% to $5.17 3/4 a bushel.

HIGHLIGHTS

Export Business Rumor Sparks Excitement: Grains traders were abuzz with the rumor of a large grains export sale this afternoon, which was the chief reason for the lift in grains futures. However, this rumor--some believe the alleged buyer to be China, while others think it's another trade partner like Japan or Mexico--has not been substantiated. "We will wait and see if this news can be confirmed," said Craig Turner of Daniels Trading.

Shutdown Standstill a Bad Omen for Grains: A lack of progress in the government shutdown standoff between President Trump and House Democrats has grain markets worried that they will be operating without important USDA for an extended period of time. "There are still no signs that the US government will be funded in the near or even medium term," says AgResource. "The two sides seem to be getting farther apart." The shutdown is now on its 27th day, the longest in U.S. history. During that time, the grains market has not had access to key USDA data including weekly export sales, confirmations of purchases by foreign nations, and the World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report, among other things.

INSIGHT

House to Vote on More Funding Bills Next Week: House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Thursday that the House of Representatives would convene next week to pass more legislation that aim to end the government shutdown. However, President Trump and House Democrats remain split on the issue of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, with little hope of a quick compromise being reached.

U.S. Jobless Claims Fell Last Week: Initial jobless claims fell to nearly a 49-year low, according to data released by the Labor Department today. This has been taken to mean that the U.S. labor market remains robust, despite concerns about slowing economic growth and the government shutdown. Claims by furloughed federal employees file under a separate program.

AHEAD

-- Martin Luther King Day will be observed on Monday, with grains not being traded on the CBOT. Normal hours will resume on Tuesday.

-- USDA export inspections to be released on Tuesday--one of the few data sets still being published during the shutdown.

Write to Kirk Maltais at kirk.maltais@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

January 17, 2019 15:22 ET (20:22 GMT)